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MORNING MESSAGE: Will We Stop Social Security Cuts?

OurFuture.org's Richard Eskow: "Two recent news reports indicate that the President is 'strongly considering' cuts to Medicare and Social Security in his upcoming budget, which is to be released in less than ten days ... Will voters raise an outcry in the next nine days? Will the Democratic rank and file shower the White House with calls and emails insisting that it back down from these proposals, or will it passively accept them – and then watch their party suffer the consequences for years to come?"

Sequester Nation: Slamming The Poor

"Help shrinks as poverty spikes" reports AP: "[The cuts] are hitting at a time of spiking poverty as the U.S. slowly climbs out of the deepest economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s ... The U.S. Census Bureau puts the number of Americans in poverty at levels not seen since the mid-1960s ... There is no question the national belt-tightening 'will deepen and increase poverty,' said [Catholic Charities' William] McCarthy, citing the cuts in long-term care for poor seniors including assisted living and nursing care, and fewer low-income housing spaces, among other ripple effects."

"Sequester cuts could see some seniors go hungry" reports Arizona's KTAR-FM: "Across the board sequester cuts have impacted programs like Meals on Wheels ... While the organization determines where the money will come from, there is a very real possibility that 375,000 meals are at risk here in Arizona."

"Sequester Has 'Eviscerated' Ability To Visit Guantanamo Detainees" reports HuffPost: "'The sequester has completely eviscerated my ability to represent these individuals,' Carlos Warner, a federal public defender in the Northern District of Ohio, told HuffPost. 'Our budget for representing Guantanamo has been basically shifted over to paying salaries. For me, as a federal defender who works for the government, that’s an issue.'"

"Ithaca Airport May Lose Funding After Sequester" reports Cornell Daily Sun.

Military may shrink. W. Post: "The Defense Department will consider reductions in force and involuntary separations before resorting to furloughs next year if the sequester continues, according to the Pentagon’s comptroller."

Immigration Reform Bill Still Needs To Be Written

Senate negotiators close to immigration deal still have to write the bill. McClatchy: "... they still may hit several stumbling blocks as broad concepts must be turned into specific details that can sustain legal scrutiny. A key aspect of the proposal, for example, is that the borders must be secure before newly legalized immigrants are put on a path to citizenship. The members must come up with a system to measure border security, and whether they think the borders already are secure enough depends on what side of the aisle they sit on."

House negotiators close to deal also. Politico: "Sources describe the House plan as not differing starkly from a compromise being drafted by the Senate’s Gang of Eight, a bipartisan group that is also nearing the finish line ... There are still issues to work out. One is cost — the price of securing the border is steep."

Sen. James Inhofe won't filibuster immigration reports The Hill.

ThinkProgress' Rebecca Leber on "How The Business-Labor Immigration Deal Will Help Immigrant Workers": "One of the shortcomings of the current guest worker system is that it rewards poor employer practices, according to AFL-CIO. Guest worker lawsuits spotlight the range of abuse and exploitation: For example, separate lawsuits alleged H-2B visa-holders were cheated out of fair wages and subjected to 'slave-like conditions.' The W-visa allows for workers to look for a new employment without having their visa revoked, and the AFL-CIO-Chamber deal also creates certification for foreign labor recruiters in order to cut down on the extortion of applicants."

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